


Verse 1, Line 6

by luckyferrero



Category: Bloodbound (Visual Novels), Choices: Stories You Play
Genre: Angst, Brief Mention of Violence, Central Park, Character Death, Comfort, F/M, I Love You, Kissing, Loss, New York, Office, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Penthouse, Reunions, Romance, Vampires, dream - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25869112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckyferrero/pseuds/luckyferrero
Summary: New York had become an inferno...a wasteland, infested with creatures that could only roam when the sun wasn't in the sky.But Adrian paid no attention to the horrific view of the city. Instead, he focused on her. She was supposed to be dead, to stay dead, yet there she was.
Relationships: Adrian Raines/Katrina Carson, Adrian Raines/Main Character (Bloodbound), Adrian Raines/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Verse 1, Line 6

**Author's Note:**

> This is somewhat of a rewrite of Book 3′s Chapter 1. I was inspired to write this after reading Reunited by god-save-the-keen on Tumblr(it is absolutely amazing)!! 
> 
> Regarding the title, they correspond to the lyrics of Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys! Once you find it, this entire fic will make sense (hopefully). If you want to listen to the song while reading, listen to Hozier’s Live at the BBC version!

New York had become an inferno. Buildings destroyed by the fire that had spread throughout the city, their walls blackened with soot. Bodies littered everywhere. Some were mangled and reduced into carcasses with faces barely recognizable, every orifice full of their blood as it seeped through the tattered ribbons of skin and muscles. Gray ashes fluttered in the air, raining down on the streets like winter snow. The Big Apple had now rotted into a wasteland, infested with creatures that could only roam when the sun wasn't in the sky.

But Adrian paid no attention to the horrific view of the city. Instead, he focused on her. She was supposed to be dead, to stay dead, yet there she was. Standing by the kitchen counter, she stared at the ceiling, positively lost in her thoughts. 

The last time he had seen her, she was lying in a coffin. She looked peaceful, as though she was only sleeping. He remembered the sadness that washed over him. It was a familiar feeling of loss hollowing himself into a void, tempting him to spiral down into despair. He had fallen to that path a couple of times before, and he was sure that he was on the verge of falling again. He knew that he had lost one too many people in his life. What he did not know was why it had to be him. Eleanor, Charles, Celia, Elias, all of them slipped through his fingers like fine sand. Then Katrina followed, sacrificing herself to protect him and the others from dying by Gaius' hand. He never thought he could ever see her again. He was ready to live the rest of his life in constant darkness and regret.

Until he found her in Central Park. She was pouncing on an injured woman, ready to feed on her, and Adrian was quick to catch her before she could continue. He held her wrist, gripping her away from the innocent stranger, surprised to find her alive. “You’re alive…” he heard himself say. It was a whisper of disbelief, but the feeling of her wrist materialized against his palm was enough to wash all that doubt away. It was enough for Adrian to believe that the impossible came true. “You’re alive.”

He blinked when he finally noticed her smiling at him. “I’m sorry,” he smiled back, “were you telling me something?” She shook her head. “Nope, but I do want to know what got you staring at me really intently.” She imitated his expression poorly, squinting her eyes in an exaggeratedly brooding manner while frowning. Intended to make him laugh, it worked _somehow_ , eliciting a chuckle from him. “I see that you are still ridiculous.” She shrugged. “Well, some things never really _die_.”

This time, he didn’t laugh. Not even a chuckle came out of his lips. Katrina picked it up quickly, her face flushed bright red with embarrassment and regret as she apologized. “Too early?” She asked, with him nodding as a reply. She sighed. “I guess I haven’t accepted it yet,” she explained. He approached her, embracing her in his arms, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “It’s fine,” he reassured, “in a way, I like how you’re still the kind of person who decides to see the world in a positive way.” He ran a hand down her hair as she returned the embrace. “But I understand what you mean, about not accepting your state.” She looked away as another sigh left her lips.

“You’ll be fine, Katrina. You—we’ll get through this, together.” She hugged him tighter.

A few minutes had gone by as they stood there in silence, enjoying the feeling of being able to hold the other. For the past four days, Adrian wished for a moment like this. A moment where it was just the two of them in their own little world, together, without the danger of losing the other. Now that his wish came true, it dawned on him how there was one more thing to do. Or, rather, _say_. “Hey,” she looked at him.

“I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

For the first time in a while, Adrian lost all the words. He could feel his heart beating a little faster than usual, and his mind raced with all these thoughts whirling around like a tornado. “Well, I…” he pulled away, chuckling nervously, surprised to find himself in this state. “I told you this back in the museum, but you were…gone, so…you must’ve missed it…” He found himself mumbling. _Why was he mumbling?_ He sighed, mentally noting to pull himself together when he found her smiling at him once more. “Adrian,” she placed a hand on his cheek, “what are you trying to say?”

“I love you.”

Time stopped, or at least it seemed like it did. He looked at the shock apparent in her face, her wide eyes telling him that he had caught her completely off-guard. He waited for her to say something, _anything_ , in return. “Do you…” She started, disbelief in the smile that slowly bloomed on her face, “do you really mean that?” He nodded, returning the smile. “More than anything.” She gasped, her voice dissolving into laughter. A burst of laughter full of disbelief, but also full of contentment. It brought tears to her eyes, and it didn’t take long until she began sobbing. “Hey.” He held her closer, caressing her hair with one hand and her back with another. _Was it wrong to tell her?_ He thought of this question until it invaded every inch of his mind, like a virus multiplying rapidly in its host. “Katrina,” He pressed his lips against her ear. “Why are you crying?” She looked at him, smiling as she wiped her tears away with a free hand. “Because,” she sniffled, “you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hear that from you.” Much to her self-attempt to dry her face, it gloriously failed when fresh tears poured down from her eyes. Adrian smiled, chuckled even, as he wiped the new tears away, quietly taking in her words. He asked delicately, “Does that mean that you…” She nodded, not even bothering to let him finish his sentence. The wide smile on her face assured him that she knew what he was asking her.

“I love you too.”

He thought that being able to hear those words from her was all wishful thinking. Nothing else but a dream that could never come true. Yet there they were, ringing in his ears like a beautiful melody. _I love you too_. They were simple words, but enough to bring tears to his own eyes. He chuckled with a similar shock. He should’ve known that she felt the same for him, and maybe he did, but to hear her say the same words back to him was different. Hearing her say those words to him, especially when he thought that he could never hear those words from her lips, was special in every way possible. It was like feeling the warmth of the sun on his skin.

“Katrina…” They shared a few chuckles. “Yes?” She asked. Both were aware of how close they were to each other but paid no attention to who gave in first. Just as long as they felt each other as their lips touched, nothing else mattered.

The touch was a whirlwind of sensations, tingling from their lips to the tips of their toes and fingers. He felt her gasp, clearly new to the amplified senses of vampirism, and it just made him fall in love with her even more. He couldn’t wait for the future that awaited them, even when it meant that they would have to deal with the aftermath of Gaius’ short-term reign over the city. He didn’t care about it at the time. As he would say, they were ‘troubles for another time.’ Right now, all he wanted was to be with her. He pulled away, loving the smile on her lips, before bringing her to his bed. They laid there as they continued to kiss until they were dizzy from the lack of air. But they didn’t mind. They held each other after, her head resting on his chest with their legs entangled in each other. Adrian looked at his love, her eyes closed as she began to drift off, and sighed once more. This time, it was in contentment, and he knew that he was finally going to get a good sleep.

\---

“Adrian? Wake up.” When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on his office chair in the Raines Corp. building, surrounded by his friends. Except for one. “Where’s Katrina?” He asked. The three looked at each other, a looming sadness was present in the air, confusing Adrian. Kamilah walked towards him, asking him, “Are you having that dream _again_?” He looked at her, puzzled. 

“What dream?”

“The one with Katrina.”

“What do you mean, _dream_?”

“She’s still dead, Adrian.”

 _That can’t be true_. It was the singular thought occupying his mind at the moment. The thought ran across his mind, zipping through all the spaces in his head. How was it possible? She was with him the night before…

Familiarity brought in the memories back to him, like water in a breaking dam. He had that dream before…no, he’s _been having_ that dream for the past few days, this he could now remember. It was the same dream, playing in his mind over and over again like a never-ending film. Katrina standing by the kitchen counter, her terrible joke, his reassurance… _their confessions_. All the same, moment by moment. Even _their_ _kiss_ was the same. Everything resurfaced in Adrian’s memory, and just like before, his friends gave him the space to recover himself. He felt sore, as though he was running for hours. He was tired, exhausted, and above all else, disheartened. He turned to Kamilah. “How long have I been like this?” She sighed, asking if he was sure that he wanted to know the answer to his question. “Of course,” he said, “what do you mean by that?” He could see the pain in her eyes, but he couldn’t place a reason for it...until she replied to his question.

“It’s been two weeks since she died, Adrian. And eight days since you began having that dream.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you have made it to this point, thank you for reading! This is one of my favorite fics to write ever because of the angst (haha). I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!


End file.
